


Firsts

by ThisTooShallPass1937



Category: The Prom - Sklar/Beguelin/Martin
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-03
Updated: 2019-06-21
Packaged: 2020-04-07 11:31:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 15,661
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19084141
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThisTooShallPass1937/pseuds/ThisTooShallPass1937
Summary: Exactly what the title says. Firsts of Emma and Alyssa's relationship.





	1. First Meeting: First Grade

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Welcome! I hope you enjoy this fic!

* * *

The first time Alyssa Greene met Emma Nolan, she was six years old. Alyssa was playing with the Barbie dolls that her first grade teacher had kept in the room when she called the class for attention. A small, pale, blonde girl stood at the front of the class. She had light brown eyes that were scanning the other students nervously.

“Everyone, this is Emma Nolan. She just moved here from Indianapolis. Can you all say hello?” A chorus of greetings came from the class. Their teacher continued, “I want you all to be nice to her and welcome her to our class and our town. It can be hard being a new student, so be respectful.”

Some of the kids probably didn’t know what the word ‘respectful’ meant, but Alyssa did; her mother was always telling her how she was the smartest girl in her whole class and a natural born leader. Most of the kids went back to playing after their teacher finished her announcement. Some of them continued to watch Emma. Emma looked around the room before locking her eyes on one of the windows. She just stood staring at it for a moment.

Alyssa set her chin determinedly and stood up from her spot on the play rug before marching over to the new girl. Emma jumped when she noticed the other girl near her.

“Hi!” Alyssa chirped happily. “I’m Alyssa. Do you want to play Barbies with me?”

Emma nodded shyly and Alyssa led her over to the play area. Emma didn’t say much for the rest of playtime, but Alyssa didn’t let it her discourage her; she kept sending friendly smiles over to the fair-haired girl.

At the end of the day, Alyssa gave Emma a wave goodbye, who echoed it, albeit a little reluctantly before boarding the bus.

“Who was that, honey?” Mrs. Greene asked as Alyssa ran over to her.

“That’s Emma! She’s my new friend.”

Mrs. Greene grabbed Alyssa’s backpack and they started toward the car. “That’s nice, sweetie. It’s always good to make friends.”

Alyssa skipped a few steps ahead before turning back to her mom. “We’re gonna be bestest friends!”


	2. First Friendship Moment: Ninth Grade-September

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since the first chapter is so short, here's the second! Warnings for homophobia.

* * *

Turns out that Alyssa and Emma weren’t going to be best friends. The two stayed friends for the rest of that school year, but then were put into separate classes the next year. Alyssa, while she missed Emma, made some new friends and became particularly close to a girl named Shelby. Alyssa would still say hi to Emma on the playground and in the hallways, until a boy named Kevin spread a rumor that Emma picked her nose. And that was just gross.

So, Alyssa and Emma slowly drifted apart over the years. High school began and Alyssa was suddenly part of the popular group. Her braces were off, her hair was nice and curly, and she was involved with many school clubs; everyone knew her and everyone liked her, students and teachers alike.

Emma, on the other hand stayed to herself for the most part. Kids weren’t necessarily mean to her, but they also weren’t making attempts to be her friend. Alyssa was never rude to her, but looking back, she wished she had made more of an attempt to befriend her.

One weekend during freshman year, a kid named Nick decided to throw a party. Being friends with popular girls Kaylee and Shelby, Alyssa was roped into going. She didn’t really want to go. But it was either that or stay at home with her mother who would tell her that she should’ve gone to hang out with her friends.

Alyssa thought that her mother wouldn’t want her to attend high school parties in case any rules were being broken. When Alyssa voiced this, her mother said, “Well, his parents will be there. You’re definitely not allowed to drink or be alone with any boys, but it’s important to be liked by your peers, honey, especially if you want to win Homecoming queen senior year.”

Huh, seemed Mrs. Greene had her daughter’s life all planned out.

So, Alyssa found herself squeezed between Kaylee and the arm of the couch in the basement of Nick’s house. Kaylee was flirting with Nick and Alyssa was bored out of her mind. Shelby was elsewhere chatting with some other friends. It’s not that Alyssa hated parties, but she was starting to get tired of them.

Alyssa was nodding along politely to some story that a boy named Greg was telling her. Every once in a while, she would catch the eyes of Kaylee or Shelby who in turn would look between Alyssa and Greg and raise their eyebrows suggestively, as if to say ‘Get it, girl!’ But that was just the thing, Alyssa didn’t want to ‘get it’ with Greg, or with anyone really.

She didn’t understand what the big hype with boys was. Well, she did, but she never felt the hype personally. There were no butterflies swarming in her tummy when a cute boy smiled at her, no dreams of a romantic kiss with one. There was nothing. She saw boys as friends and that was it. Alyssa believed it was because she just wasn’t at that stage yet like her other friends who wouldn’t shut up about boys and dating.

Whatever the case, Alyssa Greene did not care about dating boys and was already bored of this party. So, after being there for nearly an hour, Alyssa went up to Shelby and Kaylee and told them she was going to leave.

“But your curfew isn’t for another hour,” Shelby pouted.

“Yeah, but I have a bit of a headache. I just want to go home and lay down.”

“It’s almost dark out,” Kaylee pointed out. “You shouldn’t walk by yourself.”

Alyssa only lived seven minutes away, walking. She opened her mouth to explain just that when another voice chimed in.

“I can walk you home.” All three girls turned to see Greg smiling at them.

“Oh, that’s not nece-”

“That would be great!” Kaylee interjected. “Text us when you get home safe.” She gave Alyssa a smirk.

Ten minutes later found Alyssa about half way home with a chattering Greg next to her. Alyssa really did try to listen to him, but all she could focus on was how awkward she felt. She wasn’t an idiot; she knew Greg liked her and probably wanted to take her on a date. But Alyssa didn’t want that.

She looked around and noticed a kid hunched over with their head in their hands a few houses down the street. Alyssa kept her eyes on them and realized as she and Greg got closer (Greg was still talking) that the person was crying, and that person kind of looked like-

“Emma?” Alyssa rushed over to the other girl and crouched down next to her. “Are you okay? What’s wrong?”

Emma snapped her head up in surprise. She clearly hadn’t expected anyone to be around. Her cheeks were stained with tear and her eyes were red. She quickly wiped her face and muttered, “Nothing, I’m fine.”

“But…you’re crying.”

“Uh, no, it’s um, my allergies.” Tears were still falling.

“That’s a lot of tears from allergies,” Greg noted from where he was standing a few feet away. Alyssa sent him a glare.

“You can go back to the party, Greg. I’m fine getting home.”

“But we’re not at your house yet.”

“I’m gonna stay with Emma for a little.”

“You don’t have to stay with me,” Emma mumbled.

Alyssa put a hand on Emma’s shoulder. She felt the other girl tense under her touch, but she didn’t shrug her off. Alyssa addressed Greg. “Really, Greg, I’m fine. Thank you for walking with me.”

Greg wanted to protest, but he gave a reluctant nod before saying an awkward goodbye and walking back towards Nick’s. Silence descended upon the two girls. Tears had continued to run silently down Emma’s face. Alyssa patted her shoulder.

“What happened?” Alyssa tried again.

Under normal circumstances, Emma would tell the other person to leave her alone; she didn’t trust anyone like that. But this was Alyssa Greene and while they weren’t super close, Alyssa had always been kind to her.

Emma sniffled. “It’s nothing. Just some stupid fight with my parents.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.” The brunette sounded genuine. “It’s not stupid if it’s making you cry.”

Emma used her sleeve to wipe her face again. She peered over to Alyssa. “Look, you really don’t have to be here. I’ll be fine. You don’t have to waste your precious Saturday night on me.”

Alyssa snorted. “My precious Saturday night was me leaving a party early because I was bored.” She nudged Emma’s shoulder with her own. “And I’m not wasting it; I’m spending it with a friend.”

Emma shot her a confused look.

“You consider us friends?” she asked.

Alyssa furrowed her brow. “Of course. I mean, I know we don’t hang out all the time or anything, but I think we are.”

A slow smile bloomed on Emma’s face. Alyssa wanted to sing. She had gotten Emma to smile!

“I’d like that.”

Alyssa smiled and moved her hand from Emma’s shoulder to her back and rubbed gently.

“You don’t have to tell me what’s going on. Just know that you can if you want to.”

Emma gave another small smile. “Thanks, Alyssa.”

The front door behind them wrenched open, making the girls jump, and a tall man stood in the doorway. His jaw was clenched and he took in the two girls with sharp eyes.

“Who’s this?” he asked, his voice cold.

“Dad!” Emma jumped up. “It-it’s not what you think! She’s just a friend.”

Alyssa was confused by the other girl’s response, but still she introduced herself. “I’m Alyssa Greene, sir. I go to school with Emma.”

Mr. Nolan stared at Alyssa with a calculating gaze. The brunette grew increasingly uncomfortable as she noticed the tension set in the man’s shoulders.

After a moment, he spoke. “I suggest you go home now, Alyssa.” He turned his gaze to his daughter. “Emma is no longer welcome here.”

Alyssa froze. What did he mean by that?

“Dad!” Emma cried. “Please, I-I didn’t choose this!”

“We’ve already told you, Emma. If you can’t follow the rules of the Bible, you can’t stay here.”

“But I’m not-”

“Enough!” Mr. Nolan snapped. He pointed past the girls. “Out there, you can live however you like. But not under my roof.” He returned to the door and slammed it shut.

Alyssa couldn’t move. What had just happened? Did…did Mr. Nolan just kick-

Emma burst into tears next to her. Alyssa turned to her. Her mind was reeling. She watched as Emma angrily kicked over a suitcase. How had Alyssa not noticed the luggage and the accompanying duffel?

Alyssa watched as Emma fell back down onto the stair she was sitting on before and buried her head into her arms. Alyssa wanted to ask why Emma’s father would say stuff like that. But she also wasn’t dumb and knew she could put the pieces together; she already had.

“Emma-”

“Why are you still here?” Emma snapped. She was glaring at Alyssa, tears still running down her face. “Just go away! Go back to your stupid party and tell everyone how I’m a giant lesbian. Isn’t that what you do?”

Alyssa bristled at the accusation (and ignored the way her stomach did a flip at the confirmation that Emma was gay). “I would never do that!”

“Whatever.”

The brunette steeled herself. This wasn’t about her; this was about Emma.

 “Emma, I’m so sorry. Do you…do you need some place to stay? You can come to my house.”

“No,” she said wetly. “I’ll be okay. My grandma is on her way to come pick me up.”

“Do you want me to stay here until she does?” Emma didn’t answer. So, Alyssa plopped herself down next to her. “I’ll stay.”

The two girls didn’t say anything. Emma was still quietly crying. After about ten minutes, a dark car pulled onto the street.

“That’s my grandma,” Emma said and she stood to gather her things. When she turned back around, Alyssa was extending her hand. “What?”

“Give me your phone. I want you to have my number. You know, in case you need anything.”

“You don’t have to do that.”

“I want to,” Alyssa insisted. Emma stared at her for another moment before relenting and handing over her phone. The brunette quickly programmed her contact details in.

A car door shut in front of them and Betsy Nolan rushed over to Emma and pulled her into a tight hug.

“Emma, sweetheart, are you okay?” Betsy pulled back and cupped her granddaughter’s face. “I’m so sorry about what’s happened.” She sent a glare to the house. “I have half a mind to march in there and club my son upside the head. They’re absolute fools! There is nothing wrong with you.”

The last statement made Emma crumble once again into tears. Betsy pulled her into another hug before ushering her to the car. “C’mon, let’s get you back to my place.” She shot Alyssa a cursory look as she passed by. “Hello, dear.”

Alyssa, who had been watching the whole exchange with her breath held, gave a weak greeting back. She could hardly find her voice. She couldn’t believe everything that had happened. Her mind kicked back into gear, however, when Emma and her grandmother had made it to the truck and she grabbed Emma’s belongings. She threw them into the backseat and approached Emma.

“Text me if you need anything,” she said quietly.

Emma mumbled a thanks before getting into the car. Within moments, the two were gone.

Emma didn’t text her that weekend except for a ‘Thank you’ the next afternoon. Alyssa had sent back ‘You’re welcome. Are you ok?’ Emma didn’t respond.

The following Monday morning found Alyssa bouncing nervously at Emma’s locker. She really hoped the girl wouldn’t have to go to a different school.

Kaylee and Shelby had been blowing up her phone for all of Sunday interrogating her. Why had she stayed with that freak Emma? Why hadn’t she let Greg finish walking her home?

Alyssa didn’t respond to them. She knew she was going to get it today from them and her other friends, but she was so annoyed with everyone that she didn’t care.

Eventually, she spotted Emma at the end of the hall making her way towards her.

“Hey,” Alyssa breathed out once Emma was close to her.

“Hey. So um, thanks for Saturday. I know it was probably really awkward and uncomfortable, but I appreciate it.”

Alyssa waved her off. “That’s what friends do.” She smiled and Emma returned it.

“And my grandma told me to tell you that you can come over for dinner anytime you’d like.”

Alyssa’s smile grew. “I may just take you up on that.”


	3. First Date: Summer Before Tenth Grade-July

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I can't recall if it's canon that the girls are seniors. If they are, my timeline is shifted a bit from that. In this world, the two begin dating before sophomore year and are junior when the whole prom thing happens. I grew up in a tiny town and we had junior/senior prom.
> 
> Also, whoever came up with Emma's grandma being named Betsy is a genius.
> 
> Rated T for language.

* * *

“Shit, shit, shit!”

Betsy glanced away from the TV to see her granddaughter rushing around the kitchen with her bag.

“Language, dear,” she chastised. Emma didn’t acknowledge her, but she did stop swearing as she continued rummaging around in her bag. Betsy frowned. “Honey, what’s wrong?”

“I can’t find my keys!” Emma exclaimed impatiently. “I’m supposed to be meeting Alyssa in ten minutes!”

Betsy paused her show as she remembered what her granddaughter was doing that day. “Today’s your date with that nice girl, isn’t it?”

Emma finally stopped looking for her keys and turned to her grandma. She looked slightly ill.

“Yeah,” she confirmed.

While Alyssa was very cautious about her newfound relationship with Emma, she agreed that Betsy could know. Emma was okay with Alyssa not wanting to be public about them, but she refused to have her grandmother be in the dark. It would be next to impossible for the girls to see each other outside of school unless they were at Grandma Nolan’s and Betsy was clever; she would figure it out eventually.

Plus, it helped that Betsy lived on the outskirts of town and didn’t care much about contributing to the town gossip mill. She had promised Alyssa herself that she would not tell anyone who the girl was that hung out with her granddaughter.

Betsy smiled inwardly at how nervous Emma was. Ah, young love. She held back on her teasing and instead went over to the coffee table and picked up a pair of keys.

“Oh, thank God!” Emma said when she noticed what her grandmother was holding and reached for them.

Betsy jerked her hand back so that Emma’s fist closed around air. “I have a key hook for a reason, Emma,” she scolded. “I suggest using it.” Emma hung her head in shame but nodded. Betsy smiled. “Now go have fun on your date. Tell Alyssa I said hi. And treat her right.”

“I will grandma,” Emma promised as she snatched her keys and tore out of the door.

It took her 20 minutes to get to the ice cream spot they decided to meet at. There were several other stores closer but they didn’t want to risk getting seen by anyone in their town so Emma decided on one in a town near the county line that happened to be their school’s biggest rival in sports. None of Alyssa’s friends would be caught dead in Woodland. They were safe.

During the drive, Emma thought back about how she and Alyssa made it to this point. It was a little rocky at first. Word traveled fast in Edgewater and within three days of Emma’s parents kicking her out, everyone knew about it, and the reason why. Emma had never felt so alone in her life.

And then there was Alyssa.

At first, Emma thought she was wrong to trust Alyssa, thought for sure that the girl had spilled everything that had happened to her friends. But then she learned that it had all come from Greg. Apparently, he wasn’t as dense as Emma thought. He had noticed the luggage on the porch and paired with the fact that Emma had been crying, he put two and two together. There was also that oh so helpful rumor that Emma was a lesbian that had been floating around for over a year. Really, Greg had it figured out before he had even made it back to Nick’s, and let everything spill.

Emma wanted to smack him in the face. Not because it had been confirmed that she was gay; that actually felt liberating in a way, even if her parents had kicked her out. But now everyone just stared at her, or threw nasty insults her way. Why was everyone so mean? Even her teachers seemed uncomfortable around her.

She hadn’t done anything to any of them!

She spent the first four nights at her grandmother’s crying herself to sleep. Then a text came through the next day at lunch.

_Hey. You doing ok?_

Emma stared at the message for a while, not sure if she wanted to respond. On the one hand, Alyssa was friends with those jerks who started leaving insulting notes in her locker. On the other hand, Alyssa was the only person who had reached out to Emma. She even told some freshman off for shouldering Emma in the hallway.

**_Spectacular. This is really how I was wanting my life to go._ **

_I’m sorry_ _☹ Is there anything I can do?_

Before Emma could respond, another message came through.

_I don’t see you in the cafeteria. Where are you?_

**_Supply closet in the band room._ **

_Want some company?_

Emma contemplated for a moment before sending back, **_Why not._**

Alyssa joined her for lunch that day. And the same day a week later. Soon enough, a pattern formed and Alyssa was spending her lunch hour in the band supply closet with Emma at least once a week. She never pressured Emma to eat lunch in the cafeteria; she didn’t want to take away Emma’s safe space.

Soon enough, the girls began texting each other as well. At first it started as just a few texts about homework, but then it evolved into all day text chains that contained everything the two could think of.  Through the texts and lunches, Alyssa learned that Emma was actually pretty funny, and that she loved music. And Emma learned that Alyssa aspired to be a writer and was way nicer than the other kids she hung around with.

She also realized that she was starting to form a crush on Alyssa. How could she not? The girl was smart, kind, beautiful, and she had blown up peanut brittle in chemistry class! Emma was a goner from that moment on. There were times when she thought that maybe Alyssa felt the same way, little moments of Alyssa holding her gaze for longer than necessary, or Alyssa letting her eyes flicker down to Emma’s lips. But nothing had happened, and Alyssa was straight, and Emma was not about to hit on Alyssa only to freak her out and lose her only friend.

But then the most amazing thing happened: Alyssa came out to Emma and revealed that she thought she may want to be something more with her. Apparently, Alyssa really liked the song she had sung at the Thanksgiving assembly or something, even though Emma thought she did terrible.

 That was the best lunch hour ever.

It took Emma a couple days after Alyssa came out for her to buck up the courage and ask the brunette out on a date. Alyssa was shocked at first, but shyly accepted. Emma felt like she could take on the world in that moment. But then she remembered that she had to plan the perfect first date, and her stress skyrocketed.

Thankfully, she thought she found a pretty good spot.

The ice cream place she picked also had a putt-putt course attached to it. Emma thought it was the perfect place; she hoped Alyssa thought the same.

Emma pulled into the parking lot and spotted Alyssa right away standing near the door to the store. She hadn’t noticed Emma yet. She still couldn’t believe that Alyssa Greene had agreed to go on a date with her.

Emma took in the other girl and felt her stomach swirl pleasantly. Alyssa was wearing a simple white shirt that contrasted nicely with her darker skin. The shirt was tucked into a high-waist black skirt. Her hair was down with the sides pulled up.

She looked so pretty. She glanced down at her own outfit self-consciously (a light blue button down shirt open over a black tank top and jean shorts and converse) before shaking off the thoughts. Alyssa didn’t care about superficial stuff like that.

Emma hopped out of her truck and strolled over to the brunette, all the while trying to calm her nerves. Alyssa’s eyes lit up when she spotted Emma.

“Hey! I was worried I had shown up to the wrong place,” she teased.

 Emma gave a weak wave. Was she supposed to hug her? She decided against it. She didn’t want to scare Alyssa off.

“Yeah, sorry about that. I couldn’t find my car keys.”

Alyssa waved off her apology. “It’s so cool that you have your license _and_ a car already!”

Emma shrugged. “Perks of being born in May, I guess. And the truck was my grandpa’s before he died, but grandma doesn’t want to drive it so she gave it to me,” she rambled nervously. She brought her hands together and wrung them together quickly before letting go.

She gestured to the door behind Alyssa. “Shall we? I figured we could do ice cream first and then maybe a round of mini golf?”

Alyssa shot her a smirk. “Only if you’re okay with losing.”

Emma didn’t even care to shoot a comeback. The fact that Alyssa seemed to like her idea was helping her nerves melt away. Until Alyssa grabbed her hand to lead her into the store, that is. Emma almost ran into a small boy right inside the entrance because she was so transfixed on her and Alyssa’s joined hands.

The brunette noticed her staring and immediately dropped Emma’s hand, thinking the other girl was uncomfortable. “Sorry.”

 “No!” Emma said quickly and seized Alyssa’s hand again, giving it a squeeze. “This is fine, perfect even.”

They shared a shy smile before making their way up to the counter and ordering their desserts. Conversation flowed easily between them and before Emma knew it, an hour had passed. Alyssa was just so easy to talk to. Their ice cream was long gone as they stay seated at the table and traded stories back and forth.

“Wait, so you didn’t kiss Tom Holton in sixth grade?” Alyssa shook her head. Emma was dumbfounded. “That’s all anyone talked about for weeks!”

“It isn't true. Tom _tried_ to kiss me and I told him no. But then he went and told all his buddies that we had and then no one would believe me when I told them what really happened.”

“Isn’t the school gossip chain phenomenal?” Emma deadpanned.

“The best,” Alyssa agreed sarcastically. “I, uh, I actually haven’t. Kissed anyone that is.”

The reveal made Emma’s heart flutter. “I haven’t either. Well, not a real kiss anyways. There was a boy in my second grade class who pecked me one day after school.”

“Aw, and that didn’t make your heart swoon?” Alyssa teased.

“No, I actually hit him after.”

Alyssa snorted out a laugh and Emma felt her heart soar; she loved when Alyssa laughed, especially if she was the reason behind it.

Alyssa leaned back in her chair and calmed herself down before regarding Emma with a serious look. “Can I ask you something?”

“Of course.”

“Am I the first girl that you’ve taken on a date?”

“Why, is this going horribly?” Emma mostly asked as a joke but there was worry lining the question.

Alyssa’s eyes widened. “Oh gosh no! This is great! I’m having so much fun. I didn’t even know this place was here.” She gestured around the store.

“Yeah, my parents used to bring me here when we first moved.”

Alyssa smiled as she remembered her and Emma’s first meeting all those years ago. It was amazing how much Emma had grown in her confidence since then. The brunette let her mind wander to Emma’s parents. Emma never talked about them, so Alyssa had no idea what was going on.

 She still couldn’t believe what they had done. It made her wonder what her own mother would do if she ever found out Alyssa was gay. Alyssa felt as if an ice cube had slipped down her shirt; there was no way her mom would be okay with it. Would she kick Alyssa out with nowhere to go? Or would she let her stay in the house but pretend as if it was all a phase? The whole thing made the brunette feel sick to her stomach.

“Hey, you okay?”

Alyssa brought her eyes up to find Emma watching her, concerned.

She plastered on a smile. “Yeah, sorry, just thinking.”

Emma looked like she wanted ask Alyssa to elaborate, but thought better of it and just nodded her head to the side and said, “Ready to get your butt whooped?”

Alyssa glanced out of the window where Emma had been gesturing and grinned when she saw the mini golf course. “I think the better question is: are _you_ ready.”

The girls left the store and meandered over to the booth selling the goods for mini golf. Emma paid for them and after arguing with Alyssa about said payment (“Emma, please, you paid for our ice cream.” “I’m the one who asked you out, Alyssa! You’re not going to win this one.”), the two girls began to make their way through the course.

Alyssa was correct in her assumption: Emma ended up losing, but not by much. She was surprised by how good Alyssa was. The brunette just shrugged when Emma told her as much.

“My dad used to take me putt-putting a lot when I was a kid.”

Emma bit her lip. It was no secret that Alyssa’s father had left them when Alyssa was in elementary school, but the brunette never talked about it. Emma understood, in a way. She just hoped that Alyssa knew that she had someone to talk to if she needed.

“So,” Alyssa began. “was there anything else you wanted to do?”

“There’s a couple things. We could complete this typical first date by seeing a movie at the theater around the corner. Or you can trust me and we can do something a little different.”

Alyssa narrowed her eyes. “Different how?”

“It’s a surprise,” Emma responded with a smirk. Alyssa scrutinized her for another moment before relenting.

“Fine.”

The sun was just beginning to set as Emma led her over to her truck and pulled the passenger door open for her.

“And people say chivalry is dead,” Alyssa quipped once Emma hopped up into the cab.

“Meh, I just like to treat my ladies right.”

“Ladies? You seeing someone other than me?”

“Of course,” Emma joked. “Her name’s Sarah. Lives in Indianapolis. Awesome kisser. But don’t worry, I’m sure she’s got nothing on you.” She shot a wink to the other girl who flushed.

The two chatted amicably as Emma drove them back to their town. Night had fallen, but Emma noticed how Alyssa tensed when they passed the sign welcoming them into Edgewater.

“Don’t worry,” Emma said. “We’re gonna stay on the back roads.”

They drove around the outskirts of town until Emma pulled them off the road onto a rarely used trail. It wasn’t an actual road, and Alyssa scanned the area around them, which was thick with trees, making it even darker.

“Oh great, this is where you’re going to murder me, aren’t you?”

“Damn, how’d you guess?”

After a few minutes, Emma slowed the truck to a stop and shut off the engine. She turned to the other girl.

“Still trust me?”

“I do.”

“Awesome. Follow me.”

Emma hopped out of the truck, Alyssa following her lead, and took Alyssa’s hand as she headed towards a small clearing. Alyssa wanted to ask where they were going, but she had feeling Emma wouldn’t answer her, so she just let herself be led.

Emma stopped suddenly. “Here.”

Alyssa looked around. She could make out the silhouettes of the trees around them, but she couldn’t see anything else.

“Um, am I supposed to be looking at something?”

She heard Emma let out a chuckle. “Look up, Miss I’m-Gonna-Be-Valedictorian.”

“I am!” Alyssa insisted, but she did as Emma said and brought her eyes to the sky, and gasped.

It was full of stars, more than Alyssa had ever seen.

“Whoa,” she breathed out.

“Yeah, I know you can see them from town, but I think you can just see them better here,” Emma said. “My grandpa used to bring me out here. He used to hunt in this clearing, but during the summer he would bring me here and teach me the constellations. He was really into the stars.”

“He sounds like he was an incredible man.”

“He was.”

Alyssa looked to Emma, who was still watching the sky. “Can you remember them? The constellations, I mean.”

Emma shrugged. “Some of them. I have a little pocketbook at home, but I haven’t looked at it in a while. I actually haven’t been back here since he died.”

Alyssa felt her chest constrict at the knowledge that Emma was sharing something so personal with her. She reached for Emma’s hand and laced their fingers together.

“You wouldn’t happen to have a blanket in that truck, would you?”

Emma smiled. “I just might.”

They spent the next hour laying on a blanket on the ground, hands joined between them, as Emma pointed out different constellations and told Alyssa their stories. Alyssa couldn’t imagine a better first date.

Eventually though, they had to make their way back to the town in order for Alyssa to not break her curfew. Emma parked her truck a street over from the Greene’s.

“I had a really nice time tonight, Emma. Thank you.”

“Thanks for agreeing to tag along,” Emma said. “I’m happy you enjoyed yourself.”

“Very much so.” Alyssa grasped Emma’s hand and squeezed. “And thanks for opening up to me. I love learning about you.”

“Well, then I’ll tell you everything about me.” She shifted slightly and Alyssa noticed that she suddenly looked nervous. “I was wondering something.”

“What is it?”

Emma brought her gaze down to their hands. “I know that you don’t want to be out, that you don’t want people to know. But would you…I mean, would it be okay if-ugh!”

“Emma, what is it?”

“Willyoubemygirlfriend?” Alyssa needed a second to decipher what Emma just asked she blurted it out so fast. Once she did, her eyes went wide.

“You-you want us to be girlfriends?”

“Only if you want to.”

“Emma, I’d love that.”

“Really?”

Alyssa giggled as Emma’s hopeful expression. “Yes, really!”

Emma’s face lit up and she grinned. Alyssa laughed again, but then she caught sight of the time.

“Ugh, I really have to go though. My mom really doesn’t like it if I’m late.”

“Of course.”

Emma bestowed a kiss on the back of Alyssa’s hand before letting it go. Alyssa’s hand felt warm and she couldn’t help the smile that was on her face when she entered her house a few minutes later.

“Hey, honey,” her mother called. “Did you have fun with Kaylee and Shelby?”

Alyssa’s smile grew. “The best,” she breathed out.


	4. First Kiss: Summer Before Tenth Grade-August

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kissy, kissy, smoochy, smoochy

* * *

~~~~Alyssa said she wasn’t ready to be public yet. It wasn’t Emma’s favorite thing but she was so happy being with Alyssa that she agreed to remain a secret. At least for a little while. Plus, she had to admit that having a secret relationship was fun and kind of hot.

They would share sly smile and glances whenever they saw each other in the halls. Their hands would brush as they passed by each other. Sometimes they would slip little notes in each other’s lockers. And there was the wonderful supply closet in the band room. This was quickly becoming Emma’s favorite part of her day.

Alyssa would meet her there before her student council meetings or her other various clubs and the two would finally have some privacy. Sometimes they would just talk about their days. Most times they would trade soft kisses until Alyssa had to leave for whatever commitment she had.

Emma loved kissing Alyssa. She felt like she could do it all day. It reminded her of their first kiss.

They had gone out for ice cream a few towns over, a different place from their first date. Alyssa was worried that they’d be seen in their own town and that she would be outed. Emma paid for their treats like the good girlfriend she was and they sat inside a gazebo adjacent to the store.

It was crowded; not surprising due to the beautiful Saturday that it was. The girls sat with some space between them. Even though they didn’t know anyone here, Alyssa was still really cautious.

They talked and talked and slowly licked their ice cream. Eventually, the amount of people dwindled down. Emma checked the time at one point and was surprised that they had been there for over two hours.

“Do we have to go?” Alyssa asked, noticing Emma looking at her phone.

Emma put her phone back in her pocket. “Nope, we still have a little while before curfew.” She glanced around and grabbed Alyssa’s hand and laced their fingers together. 

Alyssa stared at their joined hands with a blank face. Emma started to panic. Was this not okay? They had held hands before…

She opened her mouth to ask if something was wrong, but Alyssa spoke before she could.

“Can you close your eyes?”

Emma’s brow furrowed while her heart rate picked up. “Why?”

Alyssa brought her gaze back up. “Just trust me. Please.”

She didn’t look like she was about to run away. So, Emma closed her eyes. She felt the other girl move closer.

Was Alyssa about to kiss her? Was this happening? Emma held her breath as Alyssa moved closer still. She felt the nerves start. Was her breath okay? Was she supposed to tilt her head? She hadn’t kissed a girl before; her only kiss was a with a boy in second grade, and that had been nothing but a peck. What if she was bad-

She felt a cold pressure on her nose. She gasped and pulled back in surprise. Opening her eyes, she saw Alyssa grinning at her in amusement. She had just brushed ice cream down Emma’s nose.

Emma scrunched up her face before grabbing a napkin.

“That was cruel.” Alyssa just laughed.

The two departed shortly after. While Emma was slightly disappointed that she didn’t get a kiss like she’d hoped, she still thought it was their best date yet. They were just connecting on so many levels.

Emma parked the car a block away from Alyssa’s house. It was dark out but the brunette still didn’t want to chance her mother seeing them. The whole ride home, Emma had been mentally preparing herself. She was going to kiss Alyssa Greene tonight, no matter what. She was taking it into her own hands.

“Thanks again for tonight,” Alyssa said. “I had a nice time.”

“Me too, even though you did smash ice cream in my face.”

Alyssa giggled. “Still not sorry about that. Your face was priceless.”

Leave it to Emma Nolan to fall for a girl who liked pranks.

“Yeah, well maybe you should watch your back from now on,” Emma teased.

“Oooohh, I’m so scared.” Alyssa brought her hands up and wiggled her fingers before giggling.

“I’m serious!”

This just made Alyssa laugh harder and it took a few minutes for her to calm down. The whole time, Emma just watched her. She really loved it when Alyssa laughed.

After a moment of comfortable silence, Alyssa spoke again.

“Close your eyes.”

Emma immediately shook her head. “No way. I’m not falling for that again.”

Alyssa reached a hand out and cupped Emma’s cheek and pouted. “Please.”

Emma inhaled sharply. This was it. Now was the time. Even if Alyssa was going to pull another prank on her, Emma would kiss her after. She was getting her kiss, dammit (if Alyssa was okay with it, of course).

Preparing herself, she again followed instructions and closed her eyes. Alyssa moved closer. It was almost the same thing as before. But this time instead of feeling something cold on her nose, she felt something on her lips. Something warm. Alyssa’s lips. Alyssa was kissing her. The realization sent a shudder through Emma. Fucking finally.

Alyssa’s lips were soft and tasted faintly of chocolate ice cream. Emma pushed forward slightly and Alyssa responded by pulling back and coming back in to capture Emma’s top lip between her own. Alyssa brought her other hand forward so that she was cradling Emma’s face. Emma moved her left arm to wrap it around the other girl but the center console was in the way. And her seatbelt was restraining her. A car was probably not the best place for a first kiss.

Alyssa, sensing Emma’s struggle, pulled away with a giggle. “Sorry, I probably could’ve planned that out better.”

Emma gave her a confused look. “Why the hell are you apologizing for kissing me? That’s-never apologize for that.”

Alyssa laughed and bent forward to kiss her again. “I’ll keep that in mind.” She kissed Emma once more. Emma was really liking this. “How about next time we’re not in a car?”

Emma’s mind whirled at the fact that she could kiss Alyssa now. They had made it to that point.

“Deal,” she said and brought their lips together again. This one lasted a little longer than the others, the girls parting multiple times before meeting again at a different angle. Alyssa ran her hands from Emma’s face and up into her hair before traveling down her back as far as she could go. Emma, for her part, had wrapped her arms as best she could around the brunette and pulled so the top halves of their bodies were flush together.

Emma really, _really_ liked this. Kissing Alyssa was addicting. She never wanted to stop.

Unfortunately, Alyssa’s curfew was rapidly approaching and she had to say goodbye to the brunette. Emma stayed parked and watched Alyssa walk away. She turned around and blew Emma a kiss before going around the corner and out of sight.

“Holy shit,” Emma whispered breathlessly.

Emma sat in her car for another five minutes just letting the evening sink in. Then she threw her hands up in the air.

“YES!”


	5. First Fight: Homecoming Tenth Grade-Four Months of Dating-October

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the lovely comments, friends :)  
> Hope you enjoy this one!

* * *

 

The girls were in Emma’s bedroom at her grandma’s. Emma was on her bed, pensive. Alyssa stood near the door, looking more and more dejected as the seconds ticked by. Neither had talked for several minutes. Unable to bear the silence anymore, Alyssa cracked.

“Emma, please don’t shut me out.”

“I’m not shutting you out,” Emma answered from the bed. “I’m just processing.”

Another minute ticked by. Alyssa hated this. Typically, if there was silence between the girls, it was comfortable. But this silence was filled with tension. Finally, Emma spoke again.

“So, Greg asked you to the dance?”

“Yes.”

Emma peered over to her girlfriend, her face neutral. “And you said yes?”

“No!” Alyssa exclaimed. “I don’t want to go to the dance with him.”

“Oh, so you said no,” Emma assumed. Alyssa flinched.

“Not exactly.”

Emma furrowed her brow. “I’m confused. What other option is there?”

Alyssa looked guilty as she let out a sigh and admitted, “I told him I had to think about it.”

Emma barked out a laugh. “Ouch, poor kid.” She leaned back onto her bed and settled in. She seemed completely relaxed whilst Alyssa felt like her body could break in half with how rigid she was. “Babe, I think it would’ve been more merciful if you’d just told him no. No need to lead him on.”

The brunette groaned. “Yeah, probably. But I don’t know if I _should_ say no.”

That got Emma’s attention. She shot up and stared at Alyssa.

“What?”

“My mom’s been hounding me about the dance,” Alyssa explained. “I think me going with Greg will be a good way to get her off my back.”

“I thought you told her you were just going to go with your friends.”

Alyssa rolled her eyes. “Yeah, she’s not accepting that. She keeps saying I need to have a date.”

Emma couldn’t believe how controlling Mrs. Greene was. There were times that she wondered if Alyssa had any freedom at all.

“What if you just skipped the dance? Tell her you’re going and then come over here and we can hang out.”

“You know how terrible I am at lying.” Alyssa approached the bed. “I thought you wanted to go to the dance.” It was true, just the other week the two had discussed the dance and Emma had mentioned that she would go.

Emma rolled her eyes. “Only if I was gonnna go with you.”

“Oh.”

“But I know you don’t want to do that,” Emma pointed out bitterly.

“Yet! I don’t want to do it _yet_ ,” Alyssa insisted. “And…I kinda want to go to Homecoming.”

Emma wrung her hands together. She knew that Alyssa didn’t want to be public yet, that she didn’t want her mother to know. But it didn’t make this whole thing any easier.

“Look, Lys, I know you’re not ready to be out, and I’m not pressuring you. And I know our situation is…not the norm. But that doesn’t mean that I’m gonna jump on board with my girlfriend going to Homecoming with a guy who has a crush on her.”

“Greg doesn’t have a crush on me,” the brunette protested. Emma gave her a dry look. Alyssa rolled her eyes and joined her girlfriend on the bed. “Okay, even if he does, it’s not like I’m going to date him or anything. We’re just friends and I’ll be sure he knows it.”

“We started out as just friends, too.”

She took one of Emma’s hands. “I’m with you. I want you and only you. This isn’t going to change that.”

Emma stared at their linked fingers, watched how Alyssa’s thumb rubbed soothing patterns back and forth over her knuckles. She hated this. She hated that her girlfriend was going to go to the dance with someone else and that she felt like she couldn’t stop it. And she hated that she trusted her girlfriend enough to let her go.

She let out a sigh. “Just please don’t go falling in love with him or anything.”

Alyssa chuckled. She brought her free hand up and cupped Emma’s face, pulling it up so their eyes could meet.

“Never,” she promised with a soft smile.

Emma felt her lips quirk up slightly and accepted the gentle kiss Alyssa gave her. She pulled away after a few seconds, but Alyssa chased her lips and pushed Emma back onto the bed before claiming her lips in a hard kiss. Emma couldn’t help but laugh. Sometimes Alyssa could be so forward.

“Girls! Door open!” came Betsy’s dampened voice from beyond the closed bedroom door.

The girls sprang apart. Alyssa felt her cheeks heat, but shouted an apology to Emma’s grandmother and went over to the door to open it. She heard Emma groan. When she turned around, Emma was laying down with a pillow over her face.

“Whyyy?” Emma whined. Alyssa laughed.

* * *

Emma thought she could handle her girlfriend going to the dance with someone else. It’s not like she didn’t witness boys ogling her girlfriend or flirting with her at school anyways. Plus, she trusted Alyssa; her girlfriend wouldn’t do anything to hurt her.

However, that didn’t mean that she enjoyed her girlfriend getting hit on and knowing that she couldn’t do anything about it. Well, she could, but she knew that Alyssa would hate it if she got suspended for punching someone. All she wanted to do was shout to everyone how Alyssa wasn’t single, that _Emma_ was her girlfriend.

But she knew she couldn’t do that. She could never forgive herself if she outed someone who wasn’t ready.

So, she went along with it. At first it wasn’t too bad; nothing had really changed at school. But then word got around that Greg Caper had asked Alyssa Greene to Homecoming and that she had said yes and then that was all their classmates could talk about. Emma swore that her teeth were going to be nubs soon with how much she was grinding them together.

After a few days of not being able to see each other and of not hearing anything but how cute her girlfriend and Greg were, Emma was ready to snap.

Two days before the dance, Alyssa was finally able to spend some time with her girlfriend.

She knocked on Emma’s bedroom door and let herself in. “Hey.” Emma didn’t say anything. She was sitting on her bed with her guitar. Alyssa frowned as she walked further into the room. “Is everything okay?”

“Sure. I love having everyone talk about my girlfriend and her cute new boyfriend,” Emma spat sarcastically. “It’s great.”

“What? Emma, you know it’s not like that. He’s not my boyfriend.”

“Could’ve fooled me,” Emma muttered.

Alyssa narrowed her eyes. “There is _nothing_ going on between Greg and me. I thought you said you were going to be okay with this.”

“I never said that,” Emma pointed out coolly.

“Well, do you have a problem with it?”

Emma gave Alyssa an incredulous look. “My girlfriend wants to go to the school dance with someone else, _of_ _course_ I have a problem with it!”

“I don’t _want_ to go with him! I want to go with you!” Their voices were getting louder but neither girl noticed.

“But you won’t. Because you don’t want your mom to know that you’re gay.”

“Because my mom is insane! You’ve met her!” Alyssa snapped. “There is no way she’d be cool with me liking girls!”

“Well, then your life must be awful, cause it’s not like I’d understand what _that_ feels like,” Emma shot back sarcastically. She gestured around the room. “That’s why I’m living with my grandma now, cause my parents had no problem with me when I came out.”

Alyssa flinched back. She knew that Emma had a hard coming out process; she had been there! But couldn’t she understand why Alyssa couldn’t do it?

Alyssa closed her eyes. “You said you were okay with me not wanting us to be public yet,” she said, her voice trembling. She was so frustrated she was near tears.

“I _am_ okay with that. What I’m not okay with is another guy getting to go to the dance with _my_ girlfriend and trying to kiss her and feel her up and-”

“None of that is going to happen!” Alyssa protested.

“You don’t know that!” Emma shot back. She pulled her guitar back into her lap and plucked one of the strings. “I don’t want to talk about this anymore. Just go have a _great_ time with Greg and all your friends.” She gave her full attention to the guitar.

Alyssa was seething. Why was Emma being so difficult with this? It was just a stupid dance with a friend. Nothing was going to happen! _Emma_ was the one who was deciding not to go to the dance. If anything, _Alyssa_ should be the one getting upset.

“Fine, have fun with your grandma,” Alyssa snarled before stomping out of the room.

* * *

 Emma didn’t text Alyssa that night, and Alyssa didn’t reach out either. The next day at school, Alyssa didn’t join Emma for lunch in the band supply closet. Emma tried not to read into it too much. Saturday night came with the dance and with still no word from Alyssa, Emma was starting to get a little worried.

Had she gone too far? Was Alyssa breaking up with her? Had they already broken up and Emma just didn’t know it?

Not knowing what else to do, Emma shot her (hopefully still) girlfriend a text.

**I hope you have fun tonight. I’m sorry I yelled.**

Alyssa didn’t respond.

Emma was sulking in the kitchen with a pint of ice cream when Betsy returned home from her friend’s house.

Betsy was puzzled. “Emma, sweetie, why are you home? I thought the dance was tonight.”

“It is,” Emma mumbled.

Betsy studied her granddaughter. Emma was in sweatpants and an over-sized sweatshirt. Her makeup was smudged and she was eating ice cream out of the carton.

“And you didn’t want to go?”

“Nope.”

Betsy pursed her lips and gave a quick nod. “I see. I’m guessing Alyssa is at the dance since she is not here?” Emma didn’t answer. “Did you two get into a fight?”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Emma said shortly.

“I’ll take that as a ‘yes’.”  Betsy sat in the chair opposite her granddaughter and pulled the ice cream away.

“Hey!”

“Emma, what are you and Alyssa fighting about?” Emma opened her mouth. “And don’t you dare tell me it’s none of my business cause I will throw this ice cream away.” Emma closed her mouth.

The teenager was quiet for a moment before admitting, “Alyssa went to the dance with a date, a guy who has a crush on her and I don’t like it.”

“Did you tell her that?”

“Yes! But she still wanted to go!” Emma slumped in her chair. “Grandma, I’m just…I’m frustrated. Alyssa felt like she had to have a date for tonight. She’s afraid to be out because of her mom. And I get it, I do! But doesn’t she see that it’s hurting me that she chose to go with someone else?”

“Would you have gone with her?”

“Of course! The only reason I was gonna go to the stupid dance was to be with her. And now she’s there with Greg Caper.” Emma spat the boy’s name.

Betsy sighed and ambled over to a drawer and pulled out a spoon and two bowls. She scooped out some ice cream into each bowl and slid one over to Emma before taking a bite of her own.

“Emma, do you trust Alyssa?”

“Of course,” Emma answered around a mouthful of ice cream. 

“Don’t talk with your mouth full,” Betsy reminded her. “If you trust her, then I think you should cut her some slack.”

Emma frowned. “Why should I? She’s the one who’s on a date right now.”

“While I don’t think Alyssa needed to go to the dance with someone, I understand her fear. I’ve met her mother, and while I pray that she wouldn’t act in the same way as your parents, I can’t guarantee what would happen to Alyssa if she came out.”

Betsy reached out and put her hand over Emma’s. “I know it’s hard right now, honey, but this situation is only temporary. You’ve both still got a lot of growing up to do. Just be patient. Things will work out the way they’re supposed to.”

Emma swallowed hard. “Grandma, she hasn’t even responded to me. What if she’s done with me?”

“Be patient,” Betsy repeated.

Just then, a knock on the door sounded throughout the house. Both occupants looked towards it.

Betsy smiled. “I think you may just be getting your response.”

“Or it’s the pizza that I called for,” Emma said.

Betsy pinched her wrist and gave her a pointed look. “You were eating ice cream before your dinner?”

Emma rushed over to the door in lieu of answering. She opened it, expecting to see Dwayne, their usual pizza delivery guy, but on the other side was-

“Alyssa?”

The girl in question gave a sheepish smile. “Hey.”

The brunette was wearing a sleek, strapless black dress that reached her knees underneath a jacket. Her shoes were silver flats (Alyssa didn’t care much for heels) and glittering jewelry adorned her wrist and neck. Her hair was down and left in its naturally curly state. She looked absolutely beautiful.

Emma let her eyes trail over her girlfriend before she remembered that she should probably say something. Her mouth suddenly felt dry.

“Hey. Um, what…what’re you doing here?”

“I’m sorry!” Alyssa blurted out. “I shouldn’t have gone to the dance with Greg. That was a shitty thing to do.”

Emma’s eyebrows inched up in surprise. She thought she was going to be the one apologizing.

“Oh, uh, no that’s alright. I should be the one saying sorry. I know that things with your mom can be tense and I shouldn’t have pushed you.”

“But you didn’t push me.”

“I kind of did, just in a passive way. I got jealous of Greg getting to take you to the dance and hold you and I just…overreacted.”

“You didn’t overreact!” Alyssa protested. “I should have never-”

“Emma, you’re letting the heat out!” came Betsy’s voice from the kitchen.

Emma jumped and quickly moved aside so that Alyssa could enter the house.

“Wait, how did you get here?” Emma asked. Alyssa wasn’t yet 16 and it was too far to walk from the school.

“Uber.”

“We have Uber here?”

Alyssa nodded as she made her way into the kitchen. She greeted Betsy who was still sitting eating ice cream.

“Oh, Alyssa, you look absolutely wonderful!” Betsy exclaimed and she stood give Alyssa a small hug. “Emma, did you tell your girlfriend how pretty she looks?”

Emma blushed at her grandmother’s scolding and the fact that she hadn’t…yet.

“I was a little too surprised to find the words,” Emma confessed. She turned to Alyssa and stammered out, “But, yeah, y-you look, um really b-beautiful. Like, super beautiful.”

Alyssa ducked her head in embarrassment. “Thanks.”

When the two girls did nothing but share shy glances with each other, Betsy rolled her eyes.

“Alright, not that watching you lovebirds swoon over each other isn’t adorable, but I feel like maybe you two should talk,” Betsy said, giving Emma a pointed look.

“Oh, yeah, let’s go upstairs,” Emma suggested and led Alyssa to her room. She shut the door until only a sliver was open and turned to Alyssa. She took in her girlfriend once more, noticing the professional makeup on her face and the way her dress shimmered.

“Wow,” Emma breathed out. “I’m really sad I didn’t go to the dance now.”

Alyssa chuckled. “You didn’t miss much, just some teenagers grinding on each other and lots of yelling/singing.”

Emma’s eyes narrowed. “Greg didn’t grind on you, did he?”

“I didn’t let him. I told you that we were only going as friends.”

“I know, I know, I just don’t trust him.”

Alyssa went over and perched herself on the end of Emma’s bed. “How about we talk, like your grandma suggested?”

Emma nodded and joined the brunette. “Okay. I’m sorry that I blew up over you going to the dance with someone else.”

Alyssa shook her head. “You had every right to blow up. I shouldn’t have even proposed going with a date; I should have just gone with my friends. I just…I’m scared that my mom is gonna find out, Em, and I can’t handle that right now. I love being with you; it’s the only time I feel like I can be myself.”

“I like that you feel yourself around me,” Emma admitted. “And I get it, about your mom. We can stay secret as long as you want. I can be patient.”

Alyssa lunged forward until she was hugging Emma. “Thank you,” she whispered. She pulled back. “And I promise it won’t be for long. I want to be able to hold your hand in the halls and kiss you and take you on dates in town. I just need a little more time.”

“I can give that. So, we’re okay?” she asked nervously. The brunette nodded and Emma felt ten times lighter. “Oh, thank God!”

Suddenly, Betsy’s voice called from downstairs. “Emma! Your pizza’s here!”

Alyssa’s eyes snapped to Emma’s. “You got a pizza?” she asked, excited.

Emma laughed. “Yep, you want some?”

“Please! I hardly ate at dinner cause I was worried about you. I’m starving!”

She leaped off the bed and started towards the door but Emma grabbed her hand and tugged until she was flush with Emma’s body. Emma ducked her head and captured Alyssa’s lips in a hard kiss, immediately parting them with her tongue, which Alyssa readily accepted. She snaked one hand through Alyssa’s curls while the other trailed down her side. Alyssa responded by wrapping her arms around Emma’s waist and letting a sigh out.

Emma really knew how to kiss.

Just when Alyssa thought she was going to suffocate from lack of oxygen, Emma pulled back.

“Alright, now we can go downstairs.”


	6. First I Love You: Tenth Grade-Five Months of Dating-December

* * *

 Winter came quicker than Emma would have liked. Cold and snow blew in, and while it was still possible for the girls to go to the clearing and stargaze, it wasn’t really sensible. So, they stayed tucked away in the comfort of Betsy’s house, making cookies and drinking hot cocoa while snuggling under a blanket in the living room.

Emma had never been happier, even if she and Alyssa were still not out publicly. She felt as if her whole world turned upside down in the best way possible. She hoped the brunette felt the same way.

* * *

 “Emma Watson? Keira Knightley? Karen Gillan?”

“You’re naming a lot of British people.”

“Karen’s Scottish.”

Emma ignored her. “No to all of them.”

They were in the band supply closet for lunch. Alyssa told her friends she was tutoring someone in chemistry as the excuse (Emma chuckled at that. “Really? Chemistry?” “Well, it’s not a complete lie.”). She was currently trying to figure out who had been the first girl to make Emma’s head turn. Alyssa didn’t understand why Emma wouldn’t just tell her.

In truth, it’s because Emma loved Alyssa’s thinking face. Her eyebrows would scrunch together in an adorable way and if she were deep in thought, she would unknowingly poke out her tongue just the tiniest amount.

“Oh!” Alyssa snapped her fingers and looked to Emma triumphantly. “Kaley Cuoco.”

“I don’t know who that is.”

“Penny from the Big Bang Theory.”

“Oh,” Emma said in realization, but then shook her head.

Alyssa let out a frustrated noise. “I feel like I’ve named every hot girl I know.”

Emma pretended to be offended. “Really? All the hot girls you know are celebrities?”

Alyssa gave her an impish grin. “Except for you, of course.” She pecked Emma on the cheek. “Will you tell me now?”

Emma gave a dramatic sigh before saying, “Know that girl from _Juno_?”

“Ellen Page?”

“Ellen Page,” Emma confirmed. “I saw the movie when I was eleven. I loved her character and felt I could relate in some ways, being awkward and all.”

“You’re not awkward!” Alyssa protested, but Emma continued on.

 “And…I don’t know, I thought she was cute. I borrowed it from Kaylee back when we were still friends and I watched it over and over and over. My parents flipped when they found out I had watched it.”

“I get that. I borrowed the _Harry Potter_ books from Shelby last year and my mom found out and forbade me from reading them.”

“Why? Isn’t that series, like, for kids?”

Alyssa chuckled. “Yeah, but they have to do with magic and sorcery and she was afraid I would want to become a witch or something like that. And they’re not just for kids, they’re so good! I was half way through the second one when she discovered them in my room. If I ever get them again, I’m gonna have to start over.”

Emma nodded, and brought the topic back to what it was before. “What about you? Who was your first girl crush?”

The brunette smirked. “Not telling you.”

“C’mon! That’s not fair,” Emma complained. “I told you!”

“I’ll tell you later,” Alyssa promised. “Anyways, what’re your plans for Christmas break?”

Emma slumped back against the wall, defeated. “Some of my cousins are coming up from Missouri. It’s my grandma’s daughter, my dad’s sister, and they haven’t seen each other for a couple years.”

Alyssa nodded in understanding. “Do they know? That you’re gay, I mean.”

“If they don’t, they will soon. My grandma told me that she was going to tell them in the next couple days and that she won’t let them stay if they’re gonna be hostile.”

“Will your parents be there?”

Emma quirked her lips downward. It was a miniscule movement, but Alyssa caught it. “Doubtful. They haven’t reached out at all since they kicked me out. I don’t see why they would start now.”

“Because they’re idiots,” Alyssa answered harshly. “They’re idiots who clearly don’t realize how amazing their daughter is.”

Emma appreciated Alyssa’s defense, but she didn’t want to talk about it.

“What about you? What special plans does your mom have for you?”

Alyssa rolled her eyes before rattling off the many things her mother had planned for the nine days she had off from school.

Emma frowned. “So, you don’t think we’ll be able to hang out this break?” She had been hoping to have Alyssa come over for dinner at some point.

The brunette gave a guilty look. “I’m not sure. If I find some free time when my mom is busy, then of course I’ll come over. But I don’t want to say yes in case there’s none.”

Emma nodded in understanding. The rest of the lunch period passed by with the two girls trading stories of their favorite holiday traditions. The bell rang signaling the end of lunch too quickly, and Alyssa stood to gather her belongings before leaving.

She paused with her hand on the knob before turning around.

“It was you,” she said quietly.

Emma furrowed her brow. “What was me?”

“The girl who made me realize that I was gay.” Alyssa gave a shy smile. “It was you.” With that, she walked out, leaving Emma to stare after her.

Emma took a couple deep breaths as she let the information sink in. Alyssa was…God, Alyssa was wonderful, and Emma constantly wondered how she had been lucky enough to date her. The brunette was her favorite person, her best friend, the girl she lov-

“I love you,” Emma said to the empty, still closet.

She had been practicing saying it out loud for a couple weeks. She wanted to tell Alyssa so badly how she felt, but the time never seemed right. That, and the fact that she would break out into a cold sweat from nerves.

What if Alyssa didn’t feel the same? What if Emma was just a passing fancy to her? What if Alyssa was only dating Emma because she wanted to piss off her mother?

Emma shook herself of the doubts. Mrs. Greene didn’t even know they were dating, and Alyssa had been nothing but all in for their relationship, except for the coming out publicly part. Even still, she wouldn’t just lead Emma on.

As she left the band closet, Emma thought back to the Christmas gift she had gotten for Alyssa.

Emma had joined her grandmother on a journey into the city to do some shopping. Emma needed to find something for Alyssa, and she was stressing about it. It also didn’t help that the three infamous words (I love you) had been bouncing around in Emma’s head for a few days and she couldn’t find the perfect way to tell Alyssa them.

Why was this so hard?

Betsy noticed her granddaughter’s tight, pensive face. “Something troubling you, dear?”

Emma was quiet for a moment before admitting, “I need to get Alyssa a Christmas present, and I have no ideas.”

“You wanna know what my favorite presents from your grandfather were?” Emma turned to her grandmother. “It was the ones that came from the heart. The ones that showed he was listening to me or knew what I needed. Some of the bests weren’t even objects at all, but his words.”

“His words?”

“Mmhmm. He was great with words, so genuine.”

Emma pondered. She felt she did okay with words. She enjoyed writing poetry and songs. Alyssa loved words, too. At least when it came to reading them; that girl always had a book to read.

A slow smile bloomed on Emma’s face. “I have an idea.”

“You’re welcome,” Betsy replied smugly.

Buying the books had been the easy part. When Betsy and Emma made it into the city, the latter scoured the stores for the novels, but places either didn’t sell them or they were too high of a price for a high school sophomore with no job. Emma’s triumphant feeling of thinking of the perfect gift for her girlfriend began to fade as the day wore on. Betsy patted her shoulder as they made their way back to the car.

“We can check online, dear. I’m sure we can find them in an affordable range.”

“I doubt it,” Emma said sullenly.

Later that night, Emma vowed to never question her grandmother again. She had been right; the books were cheaper online! Granted, they were used, but Emma didn’t care. With some monetary help from her grandmother Emma bought the books and they arrived on the doorstep four days later.

The books were a little battered around the edges, but the pages were clean. They would do. With only a week left until she and Alyssa were to exchange gifts, Emma began the second part of her idea, which was a bit harder. She wracked her brain trying to find the perfect words, but she felt like she did a decent job. She was confident that Alyssa would like her gift.

However, as the day drew nearer, Emma’s confidence wavered. She felt as if she were giving Alyssa more than a gift; she felt like she was giving Alyssa a piece of her heart.

On the Tuesday before the holiday break, Emma was pacing inside her bedroom as she waited for Alyssa to show up after cheer practice. She went over the plan in her head over and over. Alyssa comes over, they exchange gifts. Before Alyssa opens the box that held the books, Emma would tell her that she loved her. Yeah, it was going to work.

Betsy passed by her door on the way to the stairs and noticed the girl wringing her hands together and running a path into the carpet, she poked her head in.

“Emma, darling, relax.” The teenager stopped and looked to her grandmother. “Alyssa is going to love her gift.”

 _It’s not just the gift,_ Emma thought to herself, but out loud she just said, “Thanks, grandma.”

At that moment, the doorbell rang. Emma felt her heart lurch into her throat, but she rushed down the stairs to invite her girlfriend in out of the cold. After exchanging pleasantries with Betsy, Alyssa followed Emma back up into her bedroom. She partly closed the door before dropping her backpack on the floor.

“Hey, so do you want to exchange gifts now or-”

“We can do now.” Emma hoped that Alyssa didn’t notice how her voice rose in pitch due to nerves.

Alyssa did, but she chose not to tease Emma about it; it was obvious the girl was nervous for whatever reason. “Alright, do you want me to go first?”

Emma nodded and she sat on the foot of her bed while Alyssa rummaged around in her backpack. The brunette pulled out a small box wrapped in festive red paper. She joined Emma on the bed and presented it to her.

“I know it’s not much,” Alyssa began to explain as Emma tore off the paper to expose a simple white box. It was a jewelry box. Emma opened the lid to reveal a delicate gold chain with a small green stone. She took in a sharp breath. The stone shined in the light; it was absolutely gorgeous.

“Lys…” Emma began breathlessly.

“Like I said, I know it’s not much. But emerald is your birth stone, right?” Emma nodded, not being able to find her voice. Alyssa began to get nervous. “D-do you not like it?”

Emma brought her eyes up at that. “What? No, of course I do! Alyssa, this…this is beautiful. I-I don’t know what to say. Thank you.”

The brunette gave a small smile. “You really like it?”

“I do,” Emma confirmed, nodding. She pulled it out of the box and turned to present her neck to her girlfriend. “Put it on for me?”

The gem fell against Emma’s chest and she put a finger to it. Her heart was fluttering so much. This was easily the best gift she’d ever been given, and it made her that much more convinced to tell Alyssa what she wanted to say tonight.

She turned back to face her girlfriend, who was gazing at her in adoration.

“I have your gift.” Emma reached over to the other side of the bed and pulled up the wrapped box.

_I love you. I love you. I love you._

Alyssa raised her eyebrows at the size of the box, not noticing how Emma’s hands were shaking.

“Uh, what is-oh geez, it’s heavy!” Emma, in her anxiety, had plopped the gift into the brunette’s hands, who hadn’t expected the weight of the box and let it collapse into her lap.

_I love you. Now, tell her now!_

“Uh, Alyssa?”

The girl in question paused in her examining of the box. “Yes?”

“Um, I just w-wanted to say, uh…” Emma felt her mouth go dry. Her heart was beating so fast.

_Tell her, tell her, tell her._

“Uh, I-I-” Emma cut herself off, frustrated. “Merry Christmas,” she said relunctantly.

Alyssa smiled. “Merry Christmas, Em.” She leaned over to peck her girlfriend’s nose before turning back to the gift. Alyssa carefully peeled back the blue wrapping and opened the box before gasping.

“Oh, Emma, is this-are these-”

“Um, yeah.”

“You got me the _Harry Potter_ series?” Alyssa asked in disbelief. “But how did you-”

“You mentioned that you never got to finish reading them. Maybe this time you can hide them in a better spot so your mom won’t find them.” Emma forced out a laugh. She was still kicking herself.

“Emma, this is amazing. Thank you so much! I don’t even-oh, there’s a note.”

Emma snapped her head up in fear. In her moment of mental turmoil, she had completely forgotten about the slip of paper that was poking out of the pages of the _Sorcerer’s Stone._

“Oh, um, you don’t have to read that.”

But Alyssa had already pulled out the small index card and read aloud “’Ten things I love about you, Alyssa Greene.’” Her eyes widened as she read the words and looked to Emma, who shrugged.

“There’s more than just the books to your gift.”

“Em-”

“They’re spread out throughout the books,” Emma interrupted, hoping the little notes would convey her feelings since her mouth refused to form the significant words.

Alyssa proceeded to go through the books, taking out the index cards that were decorated with color and small drawings of hearts. She spread out the ten cards on the bedspread once they were there, wanting to read them all at once. She took a deep breath as she began to run her eyes over the words.

_Ten Things I Love About You, Alyssa Greene_

  1. _Your eyes. They’re the perfect shade of brown. I get lost in them sometimes._
  2. _Your smile, especially when your dimples show._
  3. _Your drive. Seriously, I don’t know you juggle everything that you do._
  4. _Your support. Thanks for defending me to your friends._
  5. _Your hair. I love your curls, especially when they’re so curly that they bounce._
  6. _Your kisses. I really like those. Thanks for being my first real kiss._
  7. _Your faith in me. You make me feel like I can take on the world._
  8. _Your voice. This may sound weird, but I think it’s so soothing._
  9. _Your intelligence. You’re super, duper smart, and I find it so attractive._ _😉_
  10. _You_



Alyssa’s eyes were glistening with unshed tears by the time she finished. “Emma.” Her voice trembled.

Emma took a deep breath and before she could overthink it, blurted out “I love you. In case that wasn’t clear by the notes.”

A tear escaped from the brunette’s eye as she gave a smile. “You love me?”

Emma blinked. “Um, that is what I just said.”

“Say it again.”

Alyssa wasn’t smiling. In fact, if it wasn’t for the glistening of her eyes, Emma would guess that the brunette could care less about what just happened.

Emma reached for her girlfriend’s hand and held it tenderly as she repeated, “I love you.”

The words had barely left her mouth before Alyssa had leaned over for a soft kiss. Emma let herself get lost in it for a moment before pulling back.

“You don’t have to sa-”

“I love you, too.”

Emma stopped breathing. Yeah, that felt pretty good to hear.

 


	7. First Time: Tenth Grade-Eight Months of Dating-March

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright friends! Here's the last installment. Thanks for coming on this ride with me, I hope you enjoy! Love.

* * *

Emma would be lying if she said she hadn’t thought about sex with Alyssa. Really, how could she not? Alyssa was smart and funny and kind and absolutely gorgeous. It was definitely the direction they were headed towards what with the extended make-outs and some articles of clothing getting pushed aside (or completely off).

 But Emma was cautious. She had never done this before, with a boy or girl, and she knew that Alyssa hadn’t either. So, they were taking their time and Emma was not about to push anything on the other girl. If only she knew that Alyssa had been waiting for what felt like weeks for Emma to make said push.

Alyssa, for her part, was getting antsy. She didn’t know how much more obvious she could be about wanting to take that next step. Just the other week she had strode into Emma’s bedroom after mostly closing the door (she couldn’t completely close it otherwise Betsy would hear the click and come upstairs to reprimand them. For someone who was older, she had exceptional hearing), pushed Emma back onto the bed, straddled her, and attacked her neck, all before Emma could even greet her. Emma always let out these tiny little groans when Alyssa sucked just right and it sent a zing through the brunette.

Then she had stripped off her shirt and sat atop Emma in just her bra. This wasn’t the first time Emma had seen Alyssa mostly topless, but it always made her brain short circuit for a second. She stared at the brunette’s torso in awe. Alyssa smirked; Emma had to know that she was ready now.

Alyssa grasped Emma’s hands and pinned them above the light-haired girl’s head before leaning down. Their lips were centimeters apart when Betsy’s voice reached them.

“’Do you girls want any cookies?”

And she had been _way_ too close to Emma’s bedroom! Alyssa squeaked and nearly fell off the bed in her rush to get her shirt back on. Emma stared in horror at her bedroom door, her face pale, but her grandmother didn’t come through. She must’ve stayed on the stairs.

“Uh no-” Emma cleared her throat, which had become rough. “No thanks, grandma. We’re just gonna work on our homework.”

The interruption had shattered the confidence Alyssa had, along with the mood and the two girls shared a laugh before pulling out their schoolwork. They didn’t talk about it until later.

Before Alyssa left for the evening, Emma grabbed her hand.

“I, um, I liked before, when you came into my room.”

Alyssa smirked. “When I basically mauled you?”

“Yeah.” Emma’s cheeks reddened. “It was hot.”

“I’m glad you thought so. I’m actually kind of embarrassed,” Alyssa admitted.

Emma furrowed her brow. “Really?” Alyssa nodded. “Well, don’t worry about it. You have _nothing_ to be embarrassed about.” She winked, causing Alyssa to laugh.

And that had been it. They hadn’t talked about it and hadn’t had any alone time outside of school. Alyssa hoped that they got to have a repeat soon. She couldn’t stop thinking about that day. She adored Emma and wanted nothing more than to have that side of intimacy with her, to _feel_ her. Just the thought of Emma lying naked beneath Alyssa had the brunette feeling light-headed.

That wasn’t to say that Alyssa wasn’t nervous; she was extremely nervous. What if she was terrible at it? What if Emma didn’t enjoy it? What if they ended up knocking heads and blacking out? Emma had been her first in so many different ways. Alyssa wanted Emma to be her _first_ first.

The problem was finding a place where. There was no way Emma could come over to Alyssa’s house; her mother was there all the time, and Betsy rarely left the house when she knew the girls were going to be there together.

Alyssa was wracking her brain trying to find a way that she could make their time together a reality. But did people usually plan things like this? Or was it just more of a in-the-moment kind of thing?

Was she overthinking this?

Probably, but Alyssa didn’t know what to do. She couldn’t ask her friends for advice because they would pounce on her and immediately assume that she was talking about some guy and then want to know everything. She didn’t think planning to have sex with her girlfriend would be this difficult.

Maybe she should talk to Emma about this? Yeah, that sounded right.

A few days later while the two were in the band supply closet before Alyssa’s student council meeting, Alyssa brought it up.

“Hey, so I’ve been thinking about…that one day.”

“What day?”

Alyssa didn’t look at her girlfriend as she answered. “The day that I stormed into your room and basically attacked you.”

Emma’s eyebrows shot up in realization. “Oh. Okay. Um, well first of all, you didn’t attack me…well, okay you kinda did, but it’s alright. I-I liked it. And second of all, what are your thoughts about it?”

They were sitting on the floor about a foot apart. Emma had brought some Skittles and Alyssa had devoured it since her mother rarely let her have that much sugar. Now the candy was gone and they were just sitting and talking.

Alyssa glanced at Emma’s hand which was on the ground a few inches from hers and crept over until she could link their pinkies together. She took a deep breath. Why was she so nervous?

“I was thinking that I would like to do it again.” Alyssa brought her eyes up to Emma’s. Her girlfriend was watching her patiently. “And maybe more.”

Emma’s expression changed to shock. “Wait, really?!”

“Yeah.” Alyssa’s eyes widened and she hastily added, “Only if you want to, of course! You know I would never force anything on you or want you to do something you didn’t-”

“Alyssa!” Emma interrupted her girlfriend’s rambling and shifted her hand so she was fully holding onto the brunette’s. “I want that too.”

“You do?” Alyssa breathed out.

Emma smiled. “Yeah.” She blushed. “I’ve been thinking about it, too. A lot actually. Probably too much.” Her blush deepened. “I just wasn’t sure where you were at.”

Alyssa couldn’t handle it anymore. She lunged forward and all but tackled Emma until she was flat on the ground. She brought her hands up to cup Emma’s face before connecting their lips in a deep kiss. Emma gasped in surprise and flailed her arms out before wrapping them around Alyssa’s waist.

They traded heated kisses until Emma felt Alyssa’s hand slip under her sweater and thumb the skin just above her jeans. It felt glorious.

But this wasn’t the time, and she really needed to make sure they were on the same page.

With some difficulty, Emma pulled away. “Lys, wait, wait,” she said breathlessly. Alyssa immediately scrambled off of Emma, afraid that she had done something wrong. Emma clasped her girlfriend’s wrist before she could get too far. “No, it’s okay. We just probably shouldn’t do _this_ here.”

Alyssa’s body relaxed in realization and she glanced around the closet. “Oh. Yeah, you’re probably right.”

Emma sat up and shot her girlfriend a smirk. “So, I take it that this means that you’re ready? Ready for me-for us, to um, _do_ _it_?”

“If by ‘do it’ you mean have sex, then yes,” Alyssa confirmed with a laugh.

Emma felt her cheeks warm. “Great. Awesome, actually. I, uh, want to do that too.”

The two gazed at each other for a moment before Alyssa’s phone went off. She thumbed open the message and her smile disappeared.

She was late for her student council meeting.

“Shit!” she hissed and grabbed her backpack. She gave her girlfriend a quick peck before tearing out of the closet. “Love you! I’ll call you later!”

Emma chuckled before laying back down. Today had been a good day, even if she would need to take a cold shower later.

* * *

A little over a week later, the girls caught their break. They had a half day at school scheduled for that Wednesday for teacher in-service or something; Emma didn’t really know. She just knew that she would get out of class at 11:00. Emma didn’t even think of it being a way for her and Alyssa to be alone until her grandmother offhandedly informed her that she would be out during the day running some errands in the nearby city.

“I should be home around the time you get home from school,” Betsy said. “Would you like me to pick you up anything?” Betsy asked.

“Nah, I’m good.”

“What if we went out to eat that night? Alyssa could come, too if she’d like. You guys could meet me and Marcy for an early dinner.”

“Oh, Alyssa has some meetings after school,” Emma said unthinkingly. The student council met every Wednesday after classes let out. “Although, those may be canceled because of-” Emma cut herself off abruptly as she realized that Betsy didn’t know that she only had a half day at school that day and would be home around lunchtime.

It was perfect. Betsy would be out of the house for a few hours. Alyssa didn’t have any after school meetings. Emma and Alyssa could have time alone. Time alone to do…things. Emma could feel her body heat up just at the thought.

“What was that honey?”

“Nothing,” Emma said quickly. “I, uh, actually have a big test coming up so I’ll probably just come home after school and study some.”

“Which class is it?” Betsy asked.

“Chemistry,” Emma lied instantly, and then wanted to face palm herself.

_Yep, I have a test in chemistry that I need to study for. And by that I really mean that my girlfriend and I are hopefully going to be here alone to have sex._

If Alyssa were there, she’d be laughing her ass off.

Lunch the following day found Emma pacing in the band closet while she waited for her girlfriend to show up, which happened a few minutes after the lunch bell went off.

“Hey, how-”

Alyssa’s greeting was cut off by Emma pinning her against the closet door with a hard kiss. They stayed like that for a moment, their tongues languidly sliding together until Emma pulled back with a grin.

“Whoa,” Alyssa breathed out, dazed. “Not that I’m complaining, but is there a particular reason for that spectacular greeting?”

“What? I can’t shove my girlfriend up against a surface and make out with her?” Emma joked.

“You definitely can,” Alyssa said, smiling. “But you typically don’t. What’s up?”

“We have a half day on Wednesday,” Emma said with a smile, her eyes glittering.

Alyssa furrowed her brow. “Yeah…” she trailed off, confused as to why Emma seemed so excited about it.

“My grandma is going to be in the city with her friend.”

“Okay…”

Emma stared at her girlfriend expectantly. When Alyssa just raised her eyebrows in response, Emma let out a giggle.

“We have a half day on Wednesday,” Emma began. “Which means that we’ll be getting out of school early.”

“I know what a half day means, Emma.”

Emma ignored her. “We get out early, and my grandma is gonna be out of the house for most of the day.”

Alyssa’s eyes lit up. “Your grandma’s gonna be out of the house,” she echoed. “So, we’ll have some alone time.”

“Yeah!”

“Oh my God.” Alyssa went to throw her arms around Emma, but she froze. “Wednesday is two days away.”

“It is.” Emma noticed how nervous Alyssa had become. “Is-do you not want to?”

“No, I do!” Alyssa exclaimed. “I’m just…nervous.”

Emma squeezed her girlfriend’s hands. “Me too. But it’s gonna be good, because it’s gonna be us. It might be a little awkward at times, and I’m definitely not a pro by any means, but it’s going to be the most amazing thing, because I’ll be with you.”

Alyssa smirked. “Smooth talker.”

Emma raised her hand. “I only speak the truth,” she said in a mock serious tone. Alyssa laughed.

The next 48 hours trudged by. Neither girl could focus on anything except Wednesday after school, which was not preferred at times since they both had tests on Tuesday. Alyssa found herself blushing more and more as she thought about her and Emma. Thankfully, her friends didn’t notice, and soon enough, it was the last bell on Wednesday and Alyssa was following Emma’s truck back to Betsy’s.

Emma drove to her grandma’s house in complete silence, not even turning on the radio. She was preoccupied with calming their nerves. When Emma and Alyssa got to the house, they stripped off their backpacks and winter coats before making their way up the stairs and into Emma’s bedroom. Emma shut the door quietly behind her before turning to face her girlfriend. Alyssa was watching her intensely.

“You’re sure about this?” Emma asked her. Alyssa smiled and nodded. Emma felt the flutters in her stomach triple. They were actually doing this. “Okay. Just know that we can stop whenever, alright? I won’t be mad or-”

“Emma,” Alyssa interrupted. “Get over here and kiss me already.”

Emma’s eyebrows shot up at the command, but she did as she was told and cupped Alyssa’s face before pulling her into a gentle kiss. Alyssa immediately deepened the kiss, wrapping her arms around Emma and pulling until their bodies were flush together from chest to hip. Emma could feel Alyssa’s chest move with every breath she took and it made her head spin.

Before long, Alyssa began to walk backward until her knees hit the foot of the bed. They tumbled over it in a pile of limbs, their lips parting briefly.

“This-this needs to come off,” Alyssa panted as she pawed at Emma’s plaid button down. Emma helped her and soon the article was thrown to the floor, leaving her in just her t-shirt. Alyssa shifted up the bed until she could lay her head on the pillows. Emma followed, crawling until she was over top her. They stared at each other for a moment. Emma took a sharp breath at how dark Alyssa’s eyes had become; the chocolate brown was almost swallowed by black. Alyssa shuddered at the redness high on Emma’s cheeks.

This was happening.

The brunette reached for Emma’s glasses and slipped them off. She set them gently on the bedside table.

“I don’t think you’ll need those for a bit,” she whispered. Emma shivered. _How_ was Alyssa this sexy?

Alyssa’s gaze flicked down to Emma’s lips and she grasped the back of Emma’s neck and pulled until they were kissing deeply. Emma held herself up over the brunette, who trailed her hands down Emma’s front before reaching the hem of her shirt. She slipped her hands under the clothing and splayed her fingers over Emma’s bare stomach. Emma gasped and broke the kiss.

Alyssa touching her was setting her body on fire.

Emma ducked her head into Alyssa’s neck, leaving open-mouthed kisses along it. Alyssa groaned and moved her hands to Emma’s back, letting her fingernails scratch lightly at the skin and applying pressure until Emma got the hint and let her body fall on top of the brunette’s. They had been in this position before, but it felt different now that they had an end goal.

Alyssa brought her hands to the hem of Emma’s shirt again and started inching it up. Not wanting to be the only one without a shirt, Emma did the same to Alyssa. Emma pulled back to gaze upon Alyssa, topless except for her bra. How was Alyssa this gorgeous?

When Emma didn’t move for a moment, Alyssa began to get nervous. Her confidence swooped in when they entered the bedroom, but it could just as easily shatter. Was this too much for Emma?

“Em, you okay?” she asked quietly.

Emma’s eyes snapped up to the other girl’s and she let out a shaky breath. She smiled. “Never been better. Just can’t believe this is happening.”

“I know what you mean.” Alyssa reached to Emma’s face. “Now let’s make it happen.”

 Emma met her for a kiss, and the rest of the world fell away.

* * *

Later, the two girls were snuggling as Emma trailed her hand gently along Alyssa’s arm while she slept. The brunette had dozed off a few minutes prior and Emma just laid there as she thought about what had just transpired.

It had been amazing. Awkward at times, and they fumbled a bit, but it was amazing. She wouldn’t change a single thing.

Emma was content to watch her girlfriend sleep, but the clock was reading 2:00, which meant that Betsy could pull into the driveway at any minute. Emma gently shook Alyssa awake and they changed back into their school clothes, all the while giving each other smiling glances.

“What should we do?” Alyssa asked once they were presentable. “Should we just stay here and pretend like we just got home?”

“Hmm, probably not. My grandma thinks you had some student council meetings, so we should probably leave and come back in an hour or something.”

Alyssa hummed in response and closed the distance between them until she could wrap her arms around the other girl in a hug. “I really like what we did.”

Emma smiled. “Yeah? Me too. That was fun, we should do it again, like, a lot.”

Alyssa giggled and squeezed Emma tighter. “I wish we had the night,” she admitted. “I would love to fall asleep and wake up next to you.”

“Me too. Someday we can. Maybe we can get a hotel room or something once I turn 18.”

“That would be nice.”

Emma leaned down to give her a gentle kiss, which lasted longer that intended and Emma had to pull away before the two got lost in each other again.

“As much as I would like to, we don’t have time.”

Alyssa pouted, but relented. “Yeah,” she sighed. “I should go home. I can come back in a couple hours or something. I’ll have to see how my mo-”

“Shhh.” Emma put a finger to the brunette’s lips to make her stop talking. She glanced away and narrowed her eyes. “Do you hear something?”

They listened. There was no sound for a moment, and then the front door opened.

Emma’s eyes widened. “Shit.”

Betsy was home.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Much love, friends!  
> :)


End file.
